The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Pelargonium.times.peltatum known by the varietal name Simone (Oglevee Ltd. U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,033, French No. 609 Guipolac). The new variety was discovered in a selective breeding program by Messrs. Jacques, Maurice and Bernard Guillou. The new variety is a selection from the crossing of Corsaire U.S. Plant Pat. No. 423.times.No. 85. The new variety has shorter foliage and earlier flowering than its parentage.
The new cultivar was discovered in 1985 at 55 rue Godard, 35400 Saint-Malo, France, was first asexually reproduced by cuttings during 1986 and 1987 at Saint-Malo, France, and more recently has been repeatedly asexually reproduced by cuttings at Oglevee Ltd. in Connellsville, Pa. It has been found to retain its distinct characteristics through successive propagations.
The new cultivar, when grown in a glass greenhouse in Connellsville, Pa., using full light, 60.degree. F. night temperature, 68.degree. F. day temperature, 71.degree. F. vent temperature, and grown in a soilless media with constant fertilizer of 200-250 parts per million nitrogen and potassium, has a response time from a rooted cutting to a flowering plant in a four inch (10 cm) pot of six weeks.